He gasped dramatically. ‘Youwouldn’t!’
Sierra looked at Benji. ‘I would.’
Benji nodded, ‘Me too.’ He snatched the iPhone from Markus’s hand and tossed it onto the cushioned porch swing.
They pulled him down the stairs, but he resisted the entire way, and just as the words, ‘This shirt isRag & Bone!’ left Markus’s mouth Mav hit him dead-centre of his chest with a massive mud ball.
He raised both arms, looked down at his ruined white, linen shirt, said, ‘What. The.Fudge.’
And then all hell broke loose.
They battled for a good ten minutes. What started out as girls against boys turned into every man for himself. And it was wild. Merciless.
People took cover, only occasionally risking a run to the soggy mud patch to replenish their arsenal. Mud flew. Clothes were ruined. But the sound of their laughter rang loudly through the chaos – including Sierra’s.
It had been so long since Benji had heard her laugh genuinely, loudly and freely, instead of that stilted chuckle she used when it was expected, and every time the sound fell from her lips, he had to fight his impulse to turn and look at her, to watch the joy spread to her eyes, lighting them from inky pools that a man couldn’t trust to lake water that he couldn’t resist diving into.
Before, Sierra had always had a smile on her lips and a laugh ready to go. She hadn’t just been a fun person. She had beenfunnytoo. And then After, there had been so much between them that Benji hadn’t thought to try to make her laugh. All that bubbly warmth and humour had simply vanished. It had been there one day and then gone the next, and among everything they had suffered, neither of them had thought to try and find it again.
Distracted by his thoughts, Benji didn’t see Markus lob a huge mud ball right at him. It hit Benji in the chest. He released a winded oomph and belatedly dived behind the Jeep, seeking cover.
He hid for a few minutes, buying time before he could make it back to the mud patch, but when Mav started wheezing with exertion and bent over to try and regain his breath, everyone immediately stopped.
Nobody said anything. Benji relinquished his cover behind the Jeep. Sierra and Poppy stepped out from behind the oak tree. Markus dropped the huge ball of mud he’d been forming in his hands.
Nina ran her hand over Mav’s back, her big eyes filled with worry. ‘Mav? Are you okay?’
‘Yeah.’ He took a deep breath. ‘Just embarrassingly unfit.’
‘All right, line up for hosing off!’ Benji shouted, calling attention away from Mav. He ambled over to the hose, turned the spigot on at full pressure, and turned around to where the group, shivering with cold, were lining up.
He started with Mav and Nina, and as soon as he was done, he said, ‘Neens, why don’t you take Mav in, get him showered and warm.’
‘I’m fine,’ Mav argued.
Right as Nina said, ‘I could use a hot shower.’ She shivered dramatically. ‘It’s freezing out here.’
Mav’s eyes snapped to her. ‘Areyouokay?’
‘Just tired.’ Nina cast a pleading glance at Sierra.
Sierra stepped in seamlessly. ‘You two go on up. Benji and I will get Poppy clean.’
‘And then we’re going riding,’ Benji added.
‘Is that okay, Poppy?’ Nina asked.
‘Yeah, Neens!’ Poppy squeaked. ‘I really wanna go riding with Uncle Benji!’
Nina smiled. She held out one hand for Mav. ‘Let’s go get warm.’
Mav didn’t argue this time, and Benji hoped his friend, who was used to being infallible, hadn’t overexerted himself. He watched Mav hobble inside, Nina’s arm around his waist, before turning back to the group. ‘Markus?’
Markus held his arms out, closed his eyes like a martyr about to be sacrificed, and said, ‘Hit me, babe.’
Benji opened the hose and doused him, and the moment Markus was sufficiently clean he hurried inside, leaving Benji, Sierra and Poppy.
He hosed Sierra off first, but when he turned to get Poppy, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. The kid was covered in mud and shivering, and even though her grin was wide and happy, she looked so cold. ‘Si, why don’t you carry Poppy inside to her shower, so she doesn’t have to get hosed off.’
